And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
[2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
[3] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
[4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
[5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
[6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
[7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
[8] And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
[9] And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
[10] And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
[11] And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
[12] When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
[13] And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
[14] Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
[15] And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
[16] And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
[17] And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
[18] And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
[19] And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
[20] And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
[21] And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
[22] And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
[23] And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
[24] If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
[25] And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
[26] And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Commentary on Genesis Chapter Four
The world now before us in Genesis chapter four stands in stark contrast to the world of chapter two of this book. Sin has been at work in the human race and the hidden plague of sin’s devastation is about to erupt into the open for all of humanity to see. As we view the beginning of this chapter, we see two boys who have been born unto Adam and Eve with which we are to be concerned. I hold the belief that these two brothers were twins. We are told of two births but only one conception. It is written.
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
(Genesis 4:1-5)
[2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
[3] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
[4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
[5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
Take note of this, for the boys born unto Adam and Eve began with equal standing before God. Even though Eve wrongfully assumed that the eldest of these two was the promised one who would crush the head of the serpent, both boys had equal access to come unto God and worship Him. “Cain” means “Acquisition“. By naming this man-child as she did Eve is indicating that she believed that she had acquired from God the one who was to be the savior of mankind that was spoken of in Genesis chapter three. Literally her proclamation that she had gotten a man from the Lord reads, “ I have gotten a man, The Lord!” in the earliest manuscripts.
Be careful to observe that the working of sin upon humanity caused the woman to fail in her discernment concerning spiritual truth in misidentifying this man which she had borne as the savior. This one before us is the first murderer in the history of humanity. The issue which brought about that action was religion. Look at the passage above and you will find several important concerns which still wreak havoc in the relations of humanity unto this. day.
First, I would call to your attention the equal access unto God which these two possessed. Both knew that there was an appointed place to worship God. Careful reading of the text demonstrates this for we are told that at an appointed time each came before The Lord to bring an offering unto Him. The contrast between the two offerings demonstrates further that they each knew what was acceptable unto God before they set out to approach Him.
The question arises concerning how they could have known this. The answer is, I believe, two-fold. They knew by demonstration. God had refused the attempt to cover their sin with the fruit of the earth which their parents had presented when they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. Further it had been demonstrated that the covering which would be accepted required the shedding of blood, for God had covered Adam and Eve with coats of animal skins when He removed them from Eden. Surely it is no stretch to recognize that these boys would also have known of these things by the recounting of their parents as well as this demonstration.
What we have before us is the choice made by each individual concerning how they would approach God. Abel chose to do this act of worship through faith. Cain chose to bring to God what he deemed God ought to accept based upon his works. Concerning Abel and his choice it is written.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1-3)
[2] For by it the elders obtained a good report.
[3] Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
The truth is that Cain set out to create his own religion based upon works and rejected God’s manifested way in which worship of Him was to be done. This is not an act of a mistaken man who could have corrected his error. This is an intentional act of disrespect, rebellion, and deep-seated vanity, which was an attempt to devalue God so that Cain himself became the arbiter of what was and was not acceptable in conducting religious worship. In essence, this is a bold attempt to subjugate God unto Cain which would have made him a god!
This is the beginning of the great battle between those who choose to follow the serpent and those who choose to follow the seed of the woman. Pause for a moment and recognize that behind all of this Satan is obviously working, for the same temptation to become an equal or even a superior entity unto God the Creator of Heaven and Earth was deployed to bring about the fall of Cains parents resulting in their expulsion from Eden.
The thrust of humanity to be one’s own spiritual authority and hold a superior position concerning spiritual matters is still very much evident in the religions of the world which reject God’s way to worship Him. Those who do this and reject the sacrificial offering of Jesus, the Christ of The Living God, which was done upon the cross of Calvary’s hill are in fact aligning with the ancient descendants of Cain. Note that in all of the strife and wars which have plagued mankind throughout history, it is the religions of men which are often the cause of bloodshed between the followers of Christ and the other systems of belief.
Having had his offering rejected outright by God caused Cain to turn upon his own brother and slay him. There is no indication that Cain even considered repenting and doing the known right thing in all of this. It is written.
“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
(Genesis 4:6-8)
[7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
[8] And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”
It is of note that in all of Scripture there is not one recorded word spoken by Able. He became the first in what has become a long line of martyrs for the faith which stretches over all of human history. It is important to recognize the Christian martyrs are never killed because of politics or cultural norms. It is always due to their choice to worship God as He has commanded us to do. It is always for their refusal to relinquish their faith in Jesus Christ as the One True God which results in execution.
Just as God had done with his parents, He presented an opportunity through His magnificent grace to repent and come into a right relationship with Him unto Cain, the murderer. It is written.
“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
(Genesis 4:9-14)
[10] And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
[11] And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
[12] When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
[13] And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
[14] Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
Nothing in this exchange indicates concern upon the part of Cain for anyone or anything except his own self. In point of fact the treatment of God by Cain in his reply to God’s query would suggest a scornful attitude born of hubris. Take care to understand that sin is a costly business my friend. It cost Cain the very thing which he chose to use in his religious exercises. It cost Abel his very life. It cost Cain to lose the access to his immediate family and unto God which he had been privy to before his rash action.
Yet in all of this the grace of God is manifested even unto the founder of the rebellious lineage of mankind which chooses to refuse God. In response to the arrogant accusation that God is unjust in meeting out His justice by Cain, God places a distinguishing mark upon him which would cause all who he came in contact with to know that he had the protection of The Almighty One! It is written.
“15] And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
(Genesis 4:15-21)
[16] And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
[17] And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
[18] And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
[19] And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
[20] And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
[21] And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
[22] And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.”
Let us paus for a moment to understand that the account before us does not constitute the total delineation of the children born unto Adam and Eve by this time in history. They had other children in obedience to the Lord’s command to be fruitful and fill up the earth. At this point in the Biblical account, we are introduced unto the formation of the world’s systems of Godless societies through the record of Scripture which records the descendants of Cain who were involved in the various arts and crafts found listed here.
We are told that Cain and his descendants began to dwell apart from the presence of The Lord. We are also introduced to the generational nature of curses and chains of sin which are passed down from parents and grandparents unto their progeny. We have seen this by the study of Cain’s actions. We will also see it in the listing of his descendants. It is written.
“And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
(Genesis 4:23-24)
[24] If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.”
Meet Lamech. He is a descendant of Cain who participated in the very same transgression for which his ancestor was infamous. Lamech is found to be bragging about his prowess as murderer. He seems to take great pride in the fact that he will be allegedly avenged to a far greater degree than Cain for his murderous ways. Watch as he brags of his sin unto his wives, WE are not given to know the details of this action by him, but it is to be observed that nowhere in the record of his existence will it be found that he repented and turned unto God. The generational reach of sin is far and deep my friend. Let us learn from this that our actions today will resound throughout the history of our families. Let us also recognize the God is more than able to break such chains and set anyone free who calls upon Him. there is hope and we can see that demonstrated in the closing passages of Genesis chapter four, for it is written.
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
[26] And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.(Genesis 4: 25-26)
This is the beginning of the division which separates those who follow the seed of the woman who was to come from those who choose to reject His coming altogether.
From this moment in history there has been established two warring families upon this earth, Jesus Himself speaks of the existence of these two spiritual families.
It is written.
“They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
[40] But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
[41] Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
[42] Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
[43] Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
[44] Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
[45] And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”(John 8:39-45)
There it is my friend. As we move forward through the Scriptures, we shall see the raging war of the centuries between these two Spiritual families, and we will watch as the grace of God which bestows hope even in the blackest of the night seasons which humanity will face prevails.